A Normal Day?
by JenTWCSINYFAN
Summary: Sometimes all Lieutenant Johnson and Squad 55 want is a normal day, but this one is far from that..
1. Chapter 1

One forty five pm, October 22nd 2004

She had only mentioned him possibly staying home for one day. He wasn't a hundred percent and she could hear it in his voice. But he wanted to go in anyway, so she packed him Dayquil, extra tissues and a plastic bottle or two of orange juice in with his clothes for after his double shift. After twenty one years of marriage and nearly that long with the fire department , he still hated to look weak even with her, his wife .

She poured coffee into her normal plum colored mug and then just looked out their kitchen window. Some leaves were blowing around in circles in their yard and it looked like it was going to be raw outside today, she hoped they had a slow one if possible so he could be somewhat lazy. She almost pitied the guys on his shift today, he was probably going to be snarking at them for the next two days since he wouldn't fight with her here at home. She didn't know at the time that she was frustrated with him , that during that night she'd be wishing she could hear his voice again one more time .

He came out of the hallway with a hooded sweatshirt on over his newly acquired "Bad Ass Firefighter long sleeved T-shirt in navy blue that their daughter Regan had bought him online for his birthday a month before. She had felt bad that there weren't any that said "Bad Ass Lieutenant " on them. He'd laughed and had immediately packed it for his next shift at work following the barbecue with the guys from his squad . He and Regan had a special bond with her being their only girl. Their son Thomas was out on his own working in the garment district loading trucks for now and planned to go to college with his younger sister in the fall.

He said" I'll be home Wednesday morning at seven, unless there are any major emergencies , I'll see you then."

Ruth kissed his cheek. "I'd better get moving myself, I have some filing to catch up on down at dispatch today."

He hugged her and said" I'm takin Coal into the house today, guys like it on doubles to unwind and play with him." Coal was his black lab and shepherd mix that he'd found one night at a fire a few months back and well adopted.

Ruth nodded. "Ok his stuff is in your truck. " " Call me later?"

He smiled. " As always."

Five forty five pm: Lombardo said "Anybody notice that Johnson sounds like shit today or is it just me?"

DK shrugged. "Don't know but he's got one really fine attitude happening along with it, I mean his dog is even out here with us, so what does that tell you?"

Jimmy said "Last time he got like this we ended up scrubbing the bathroom floor with old toothbrushes, I'm going up to start cleaning my locker out."

Billy said "Right behind you brother, good idea."

Then the Claxton sounded. "Squad 55, Ladder 100 , respond to falling bricks from a building at 75 and Lex , also 86 and 43 respond as well."

Joe said "All in all we're just another brick in the wall." The guys all laughed and moved to the truck quickly pulling on turnouts as they went.

Six forty five pm: They arrived on scene and saw some bricks that had in fact fallen onto the concrete around the area of this older apartment building. They moved the people back to the opposite side of the street and could tell there were construction trucks around and people inside.

Jimmy said" I'm going in, you ladies coming?"

Johnson said " I'm not in the mood for gray hairs tonight Jimmy, no heroes please, be careful everyone ok."

He popped a cough drop into his mouth and saw the 86 Lieu out of the corner of his eye watching him.

"Not up to par Johnson, are we? Maybe you should be at home in bed and not out in this wind."

Francis looked at him. "And let you boys from the 86 get all the glory, not going to happen on my watch."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself." Then he went back to his truck on the other side.


	2. All Hell Breaks Loose

Seven forty five: The lieutenants on the three squads were waiting outside and hoping that everyone could get out unscathed and get safely back to their firehouses. Then it happened. There was a loud noise that sounded like a train wreck and the building just caved in on itself making a huge cloud of dust and other debris that flew through the air and into the street nearby.

Johnson got on his radio quickly. "Lieutenant 55 to any firefighter where are you and what the hell just happened in there, answer please."

He waited a moment and then very weakly he got a response. "Lieu, this is Walsh. The ceiling and upper floors just collapsed. It's bad , I don't know where everybody else is." Then there was silence .

Johnson said" Where are you, does anybody know how may are trapped?" He got nothing but heard water or something dripping over the radio .

He said " Lieutenant 55 to dispatch, we need search and rescue at this location as well as multiple paramedics and other engines. We have a building collapse with many civilians possibly trapped as well as fire personnel, the ceiling has given way I repeat the ceiling has collapsed. I am going inside to find my people."

There was a response and then ambulances and the search and rescue teams began to come.

The 86 Lieutenant said " You aren't seriously going in there Francis are you? It is unsafe and you won't be able to see anything in there in that pile."

He replied "My guys are in there and I am getting them out if it means carrying them all on my back , now are you helping me or staying out here with the medics."

He said " Good luck and be careful, I don't think you should risk your life for this mess."

Francis replied " They are part of my family, even if I don't come out at least I tried to save them first."

Then he got into his gear and started in slowly. It was pitch black and he could see dirt and parts of the building piled up in the narrow path that he found to move in. He saw DK first inside the doorway near a stairwell. He heard shallow breathing and knelt to look at the younger man.

DK said " Can't get much air on the left side Lieu, think I messed up a lung or something and can't feel my left side much."

Johnson said " Come on I'll pull you out of here." He dragged his friend out the door and to waiting paramedics. Kim and Bobby were there with a stretcher.

Johnson said" He's got a lung thing happening and he can't feel his left side . I'll be back with someone else, keep the buses ready."

DK said "Lieu, if it isn't safe, you get out of there. Ruth and the kids need you ok, you hear me."

Johnson replied" I'll be careful I promise." He wiped sweat off his face and went back into where he had just come from.

DK sighed. " God help him , I don't know what he's going to find in that hell in there."

Bobby said" We'll get you fixed up DK and anybody else who needs us right now."


	3. What Goes Through Your Mind

Lieutenant Johnson carried Alex Taylor out when he found her. The only sing she had of injury was blood coming from her mouth and that she was motionless when he placed her on the concrete. It didn't seem right to him to just lay her there and go back to business inside the building but yet he knew other people needed him. So he told someone that she was on his squad and had been hurt inside somehow . He had found her under part of a stairway that had fallen in among the rubble and had just lifted her out without thinking. Her helmet was beside her on the floor and there was dirt and other stuff covering her face. He told the paramedics " This is Alexandra Taylor. Her family at my firehouse calls her Alex, please take good care of her, she's important and valuable to us on Squad 55."

He sighed as he moved on to keep helping people. He wanted a normal night was that too much to ask, maybe they were cursed. He wished he had stayed home like Ruth had wanted him too. He could be in a nice hot shower and then later her arms with his old but favorite robe wrapped around him over his sweats that he wore to bed most nights. He'd even settle for playing with his dog and tossing his little blue ball to him about now. Anything but carrying the still silent bodies of his family out of that dark , silent pit to safety and to be helped or to just be moved to a better place where there was no pain and no drama anymore around their lives.


	4. Who Will Be Lost?

Two hours later: There was a crowd gathering behind a police barricade watching everything where the building had imploded. A young woman with reddish brown curly hair ran up to it and stopped. She saw a cop and yelled "Hey my father is FDNY, Lieutenant Francis Johnson and I need to know if he's in there, Squad 55 is his house."

A battalion chief happened to walk by and said "Follow me young lady, there are paramedics back here that you might know, this way please quickly."

Regan went with him and saw Doc and Carlos at one of the buses. She went over and sat on the open back end for a moment. "Have you seen my dad at all? I know he has to be in there right?"

Doc replied " The whole squad is in that thing. Got DK and Alex out so far, don't know what their condition is yet, we just got back from a run with a construction worker with a broken left leg ."

She said" I hope he's being careful. Mom wanted him to call in today, he was getting a cold and he said no that he thought he could manage the double shift with it if it was a slow night."

Then she saw her father. He came out looking gray in his face and tired. He had a motionless body in his arms that he laid gently on the ground. "Construction worker, more than likely DOA , never knew what hit him in the back of the head. " He made the sign of the cross and wiped sweat off his brow slowly so he could go back inside.

Regan yelled "Daddy, I love you please be careful and come home to us ."

He said " Honey you shouldn't be here, this isn't good none of it."

She said " And I'm supposed to stay in the house with the television on with Mom and Tommy and go crazy watching the news show it over and over."

He sighed. " I need to go back in, Jimmy, Billy and Joe are still in there."

Regan nodded and watched him turn around coughing. God, please let him be all right. He looked horrible at the moment and she didn't want to lose him not now.

She saw Bobby and Kim and moved to their bus to hang out since they looked like they were checking supplies and restocking during a break in the action.

"Kim, how do you do it? How do you wait at these things for a long time and not know anything?"

She replied" In a lot of ways I have gotten used to it over the years. This is what Jimmy does for a living. When we were married it used to scare me to death quite honestly but now I have learned to settle with it. I know he promised me that he would never leave Joey before he grew up so I try and hold on to that thought. I'm with Bobby now so I am not alone and left to wonder."

Regan nodded. "Thank you. My mom can't handle it so she stayed home. She didn't even want me to come down here and wait like I am now at night."

Bobby said" Well she probably wasn't sure what you could do for him and all that."

Regan sighed and watched the entrance to what looked like blackness in front of her. She couldn't imagine being the guys in there, it had to be frightening and very lonely if you couldn't see anyone else inside.

Four hours later: Just before two am . Finally Jimmy, Joe and Billy were brought out. Jimmy had a broken left elbow and wrist and a broken leg . Billy had a concussion, bruised ribs and a broken right hand. And Joe was last with a broken right leg, shoulder and arm. They were taken to various ambulances to be sent to Angel Of Mercy with various other injured or dead people quickly.

Regan said " Ok the guys are all out now, where's my dad. I hope he isn't trapped in there or anything , he will walk out I know it ."

Bobby yawned. "it's two in the morning, Regan he is going to be pissed that you stayed here this late at night, let us take you home and we will call when we hear something about him."

Then an 86 firefighter came out. He had Francis laying motionless in his arms. He looked sad and scared. " We were moving pieces of a broken stairwell around so we could walk better. He said it felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest and then he just slid down the wall. He's been out for the five minutes that I carried him to the fresh air. He looked gray and sweaty before he went down."

Bobby yelled " Doc I need you over here , Lieu is down."

Kim started to run over and then remembered Regan. She said " He will be fine he's in good hands right now."

Regan said" He can't go, not now. I need to tell him something and it won't be fair if he can't hear it from me."

Bobby was on the cold concrete. " He's in arrest, I need a shot of epi, let's start CPR."

Doc did and then Carlos got the defibrillator out and charged it. He ran over and said " Clear I want to try this, it's risky but we need him back." He charged it to 250. " Charging to 250." He shiocked him . "Nothing, come on

Lieu."

"Charging to 350." He shocked Johnson again and said" Got a rhythm, it's sluggish but it's there. "

Bobby said "Good save Nieto, now come with me to the hospital."

Doc went to Kim and said " He just went to the hospital and we should take Regan, someone needs to get ruth down there as soon as possible."

Kim said " He's not good is he Doc?"

Doc said "He's stubborn , let's hope that works in his favor right now."

Regan felt tears sting her eyes a bit then. "I'll call my mom now." She dialed her cell phone and told her brother to bring her mother to the hospital as soon as possible. She said that she would meet them there.

Fifteen minutes or so later: Johnson was wheeled in and his status given. Sarah Morales- Parker took charge and then a short time later said "He needs immediate open heart surgery it can't wait."

Regan said " Take him I'm his daughter and my mom is on her way with my brother. Just make it better please doctor."

Sarah nodded and sighed softly. "I will do the best I can." Then she went to a chair to wait and just put her head in her hands slowly. Had she ever said her dad was one of the bravest people she knew. She needed to tell him that. Her mom was going to freak . This was unbelievable . He had had something serious happen to his heart and now god all she could do was wait.


	5. One Ending

Three fifteen am: Beth Taylor had gotten a phone call that her daughter had been hurt in a building collapse and now she waited for news about what had happened to Alex this time. How many more of these things must she endure , why wouldn't she go on paramedic duty instead of fighting fire like her father. She sighed softly and then thought about calling Adam once she knew how his sister was. He was a nurse at a hospital in Texas and didn't get to the city often.

Then a Hispanic looking female doctor came out to the waiting area. "Taylor family?"

Beth replied "I am her mother, how is my daughter doctor , can you tell me?"

The doctor replied "I'm Doctor Torrez and I was in surgery with Alex. Some of the nurses knew her. When she came in ,she was unconscious and bleeding from her mouth. We got a CT Scan of her brain when she remained unresponsive to us speaking to her and painful stimuli. Then we discovered that she had suffered a depressed skull fracture and had bleeding on the brain. When we attempted to remove the pressure inside her heart stopped. We tried for thirty minutes but we were unable to bring her back to us. If she had survived she would more than likely have remained in a vegetative state for the rest of her life until her body gave out. I am very sorry for your loss maam, if you would like to see her I can take you to a quiet room to do that."

Beth blinked after she listened to the doctor speak. " You're telling me that not only have I lost my husband to that god forsaken fire department but now my daughter? What else am I supposed to go through because they both chose that life, can you tell me? " Tears began to slowly run down her face as she stood there stiffly. "Take me to her, and then I have to figure out what to tell her older brother later and how to plan her funeral."

The doctor said "I'm sorry again for your loss, she is in the second room on your left if you'd like to have time with her."

Beth walked toward the room that she was told about and went into see her daughter or what remained of her. She saw her daughters turnout coat on the floor and just went to touch it. It smelled like smoke and Alex's favorite body lotion what was it, oh yes something like roses. She liked it to keep her skin soft . Then she saw her daughter with a bandage wrapped around her head. She went over and kissed her . "You went to be with your daddy, it's ok honey, just make sure you both wait for me to get there when I do."


	6. A Life Is Saved

Six fifteen am: The cardiac care unit waiting area. Ruth Johnson and her children sat there in chairs numb and exhausted and afraid. Ruth stared into a cold cup of coffee and was silent. Regan was on the floor near her feet with a pillow and blanket from the nurses station with her. She wasn't sleeping but staring at the ceiling of the hospital in silence. Thomas their son would just alternate between sitting and then getting up to pace around. He wasn't good at waiting though he wanted to be there for his mother and sister, and his dad even if he was angry with him at the moment. He could have retired after 9/11, he hadn't owed the department anything . They could have made it so Regan could go to college, he would have helped out however they needed it.

Now they were here not knowing if he would live or be gone forever once again.

Ruth said" Your father is tough and he will pull through. I have to believe that or I'll lose it. He helped everybody on his squad without a thought for himself and his own well being. That should mean something in all this."

Thomas said " Where were we in his head mom? He was going in and out of that pile of bricks and not once did he stop and think, hmm I don't feel so hot maybe I should just stop and get myself checked over. Hell no he just kept going until he fell over. That damn firehouse always comes first and I'm sick of having to share my dad with those guys all the time and coming in second ."

Regan heard her brother getting angry and got to her feet. " Well I wanted to wait and tell everybody this together but I guess that it won't happen for a while. I got accepted in to NYU for the fall semester on an academic scholarship. I think I am going to be a doctor and help people after everything that I saw tonight."

Ruth hugged her daughter. " Congratulations honey, your dad will be so proud of you, I bet that news will help him feel a lot better."

Thomas said"Way to go squirt. I'm taking you out for pizza once we know dad is better to celebrate."

Ruth said " We will all have a family dinner and celebrate that."

Regan said" I just want dad to be ok that's all for now."

Then they were all quiet again as they waited together for news.

In the operating room: The heart surgeon said" It was a miracle he didn't fall over before today. Three of the major arteries were over eighty percent blocked . Though he's in damn good shape otherwise for his age and being a firefighter with that stress."

One of the nurses said "He's a lieutenant doctor with the 55. I know him he's been in here before, Johnson is his name."

Then it happened. His heartbeat dropped suddenly. The doctor said" He's bradying down, get me a crash cart now." The doctor gave his heart a shock and it stabilized again. "I think he needs a pacemaker put in to keep that beat steady, let's do that now."

They did the other operation and then began to close his chest again with multiple staples and sutures.

The doctor said "This is one stubborn man but I think he's going to be retiring from the fire department after this, his heart is too vulnerable with that kind of physical stress."

The nurse said" I'll go update his family I'm sure they are getting worried and tired.

The doctor nodded. "After we get him finished I'll be out to talk to them more."

The nurse nodded and moved out of the operating room.

She saw his family waiting quietly as she walked up to them. "Johnson family?"

All three of them stood. Ruth said "How is he?"

The nurse replied " Well he had to have an emergency triple bypass since three of his arteries were blocked. We finished that successfully , but then his heartbeat dropped a bit. The doctor stabilized him and put in a pacemaker to control his heartbeat. For now he's going to be in recovery . The doctor will be out in a few minutes to talk to you. He will not be able to return to the fire department however with his heart condition."

Ruth nodded. "Thank you nurse, when can we see him?"

She replied" In an hour or so , we want to move him to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit first so that we can monitor his condition for the next few days. By the weeks end we should be able to get him into a regular room in the unit if he remains as strong as he is right now."

Regan said " Thank you for helping my dad."

The nurse nodded. " You're welcome , now the hard part has just started." Then she headed off back up the hall.

Ruth said "I knew he wouldn't give up , but I just hope he can handle the fact that he can't work anymore for the department."

Thomas said " Mom I think he will be glad he's alive and then the other stuff will be second to that."

They hugged each other and waited to be able to see the man they loved.


	7. Another Casualty

In another operating room two floors up: DK was motionless and on his stomach. The doctors had found a compressed vertebrae in his upper back that was cutting off feeling to his left side. They were working carefully since this was very delicate surgery and they wanted to not damage his spinal cord as they removed it from his back. For a while he was doing fine and they thought he would be a miracle and hopefully regain his motion and feeling on that side of his body with time and some physical rehabilitation . But then it happened. His breathing slowed and then stopped.

The doctor said "He's in respiratory arrest, how the hell did this happen, he was fine a moment ago. I need to intubate him now, we are going to have to close this."

The nurse said" But he has pieces of that vertebrae still near his spinal cord Doctor Morgan that could paralyze him if he's moved the wrong way."

The doctor said " And the longer he goes with out oxygen then his brain becomes mush and it won't matter about him walking again."

The other nurse said " His heart just stopped , do you want to start CPR on him and try to get him back or let him go?"

The doctor said" There is a blood clot the size of a grape in this spinal cord fluid. Damn it he stroked out, why didn't I find this sooner and dissolve it."

The nurse said " How could you have known. He was stable when he was put into our care."

The doctor sighed. " Get him stitched up while I go and wreck a familys world. She took off her bloody gloves and threw them in the trash can before she went out of the OR pushing the door open quickly.

She saw a group of firefighters with casts on various parts of their bodies sitting or standing awkwardly beside chairs. There was also an attractive older dark haired woman with them.

She swallowed for a moment slowly then spoke. "Kitson family?"

The older woman stood slowly. "I'm his mother, how is my son Derek?"

The doctor replied "I'm Doctor Cuddy, maam your son was brought in with a compressed vertebrae in his upper back that was cutting off sensation to the left side of his body. We began surgery and at first it was going smoothly. Unfortunately we missed a blood clot that was in his spinal cord fluid. He suffered a massive stroke on the operating table that stopped his breathing and his heart . I am very sorry for your loss maam but there was nothing we could do. When you feel ready, the nurses will bring you to him."

The woman blinked for a moment and then spoke. "My son is dead? He's 34 years old , and you're telling me he is gone because you missed something. I am going to get an attorney and take every dime this hospital has ."

She said " How am I supposed to tell his brother that the fire department took another one of our family when he already gave up his father to them. You tell me that doctor ."

The doctor blinked herself. "Maam, I am terribly sorry for your loss and to answer your other statement , I don't know." She cleared her throat and then walked away from the family.

The guys were all stunned. DK was gone. They felt like it was a bad dream and they still knew nothing about Alex Taylor or Lieutenant Johnsons situation at the moment.

Lombardo said " Some normal day this turned out to be. It's a freakin nightmare."

Billy had his head lowered. " My best friend is gone, he was like my brother . What the hell else can happen before this nightmare ends for us?"

Jimmy sighed. " Well we still need to know what happened with Alex and Lieu, maybe we can get a doctor to tell us or something."

Regan Johnson came up to them then. " Guys I need to tell you something about my dad." Then she saw their faces and said " What happened?"

Billy sighed. "You might want to sit down kiddo, we have some pretty shitty news to tell you."

Regan inhaled slowly. "What is it , you're scaring me."

Billy sighed. " Honey , DK didn't make it. He was getting his back operated on that he hurt in the building. There was a blood clot or something and he had a stroke. The doctors couldn't do anything else for him, I'm sorry."

Regan felt tears slide down her cheeks. " No, my dad thought DK would be lieutenant one day when he retired. He wanted that anyway. This has to be a bad dream . He was like my other older brother, he'd been on the squad the longest. Used to have Sunday dinner at our house sometimes. " She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, and now you guys need to hear more crappy news on top of this. My dad had emergency open heart surgery . He had a heart attack after you were all out of the building. He had a triple bypass and then because his heartbeat was screwed up they had to put in a pacemaker. The doctor said he will have to retire from the department after his medical time since his heart wont be good enough for the strain. And by the way I got into NYU for the fall."

The guys all just looked shell shocked about their leader.

Jimmy said "Will your dad be ok I mean after he feels better?"

Regan said "I hope but him having to leave the squad is going to be very hard . He loves that house so much."

Lombardo nodded. "You tell him we are pulling for him and your mom that we are here , no matter what ok."

Regan hugged him. "Thanks Joe. I'm sorry about DK, more than you know."


	8. Getting Stronger

The next morning on the cardiac intensive care unit. Ruth Johnson sat beside her husband holding his hand. She had only left him to go home and shower and change clothes quickly . Her kids were rotating shifts as well as guys on his squad when they needed a break. She touched his wedding band and thought that it was beginning to wear down. Maybe she'd get him a new one for their anniversary this year.

Then his eyes opened slowly. He said "Hey dream girl. What happened?" His voice was lower than normal and tired sounding at first when he spoke.

Ruth replied" Sweetie, you had a heart attack after you carried your squad out of the building . They had to do a triple bypass and then put a pacemaker in to regulate your heartbeat. That was last night. And I have something else to tell you, you won't be able to go back to work after you finish your medical time, your heart won't take the strain ."

Francis looked at her intently with his brown eyes . " So, I'm done then? Thought maybe two more years anyway , we agreed on it." A tear slid down his cheek slowly. "It's really over, they aren't just bullshitting us?"

Ruth said " No , the doctor told me if you tried to go back out there the next time could be fatal . This was a warning for all of us."

He nodded. "Ok then, so I get to be retired and a stay at home husband. I guess I could work on learning laundry."

She kissed him. "I am just glad that you're still here and I can hear your voice again." She wiped some tears off of her face slowly.

He said "I'm sorry , where are the kids?"

Ruth said "Thomas went to clear some things at work and Regan went to school to get her assignments and see Stephanie and her friends . I wanted them to take a break for a few hours ."

He nodded. "I feel so fuzzy and weak. What about my guys, do you know anything?"

Ruth said " Can that wait until later, right now let me tell the doctor you are awake."

Francis looked puzzled about whatever she wasn't telling him but watched her leave the room as he laid there. He'd find out later, he always did.


	9. A Visitor

Two days later: A firefighter with a jacket on that read FDNY, Squad 86 walked down the hall of the cardiac unit of the hospital . He had been told that Lieutenant Johnson was on that floor and so far recovering fairly well. The doctors hoped to get him up and walking the next day, for now he could sit in a chair for a while near the window of his room and get to the bathroom himself.

He knocked gently on the slightly open door and an attractive woman in her early forties with auburn hair came over. " Hello, how can I help you?" 

He held out his hand "Jake Dillon maam, I well carried your husband out of that building a few days ago and I wanted to see how he was doing."

Francis said "Come on in, and thank you for helping me out. I should have listened to my body and stopped before that happened."

Jake said "I'm just glad to see you looking a hell of a lot better than last time we met. To be honest it scared me sir at the time."

He replied "Scared myself, but here I am now so I got a second chance."

Jake nodded. " Well I am glad you did sir, you know you're somewhat of a legend around the department. Some guys are even intimidated by you."

Francis shrugged. "Well, every dog has his day. I am going to actually have to retire it seems, my heart won't take it out there."

Jake looked at him. "Then I want to say it was an honor to have worked with you on your last time out there. There will be big shoes to fill in your house now."

Ruth said "Thank you for giving me my husband and my childrens father back . I will always be grateful for you."

Jake smiled. "I would have done it for anyone maam, just help him get better." 


	10. Hearing the Truth

The following morning: Lieutenant Johnson was sitting up in bed and had the room to himself, Ruth had gone home to get him s

The following morning: Lieutenant Johnson was sitting up in bed and had the room to himself, Ruth had gone home to get him some sweats to walk in when he was allowed on his feet later that day for a bit and before he went into the cardiac rehab unit. He pushed the button on the television remote near his right hand and found a local news station. He listened and then was surprised to see DK and Alex's pictures shown on the screen in their uniforms. He heard the reporter talk about the building collapse and say that Alex and DK had later succumbed to their injuries in this hospital. It explained why they hadn't been to see him now he thought. The other guys had been treated and released and were home recovering. His squad was inactive he was informed until everyone healed. Then his own name came up and they said he had needed emergency surgery and was considered stable but his condition was unknown.

Then Ruth walked in and said" Turn that off , you don't need anything to upset you right now, they are nothing but vultures, they won't leave our front lawn when I'm home."

He said " So Alex and DK are gone, explains why I haven't seen them or anyone else on my squad. I still need to tell them I am going to have to retire Ruthie, it's only fair that they hear it from me and not get some new lieutenant out of the blue." 

Ruth said " I know, I don't even know what they know about them either. I am going to clean out your office later, Regan will help me do that , if you want us to handle it."

He said "No I want to do that myself, when I am out of here I will go to the house and see my guys one last time ok? No arguments ."

Ruth sighed. "All right but please don't let this set you back. I am sorry for what happened that day to everyone but I need you to get better and come home to your family."

Francis hugged her. "I will, I promise, it just hurts a lot right now. So much yanked away from me in a few days. I don't know what is real anymore in my life." 


	11. Loss and Second Chances

A week later:

A week later:

Bobby was in the ambulance going through the motions of stocking it but his mind was anywhere but there at the moment. Kim had changed into her uniform and had gotten some coffee from the bodega on the corner for them.

She handed a cup to Bobby "Here, thought maybe this might help."

He sighed. "I'm having some trouble getting motivated today, thanks." He took a sip of coffee and was quiet for a moment.

"I can't believe Alex is gone, just doesn't seem real."

Kim touched his arm gently. "You went out with her for a while so you had to care about her."

Bobby nodded. "She was the only other woman that I could have loved besides you."

Kim choked on her coffee. After she got her breath back she said " Wow that was a pretty damn big revelation."

Bobby looked at her for a moment. "I know I just crossed the line but it's how I feel , even if you want to go be with Jimmy , it won't change."

Kim swallowed a moment. Then she reached out and pulled her face toward her and kissed him gently. "I don't want Jimmy Doherty right now, I only want you."


	12. Changes and A New Leader

Nine thirty pm: Two months later, the firefighters were on a double shift

Nine thirty pm: Two months later, the firefighters were on a double shift .

Joe Lombardo was standing down by the front door watching a thunderstorm approach. Billy Walsh had gone down to see where he was since he had been quiet most of the shift so far.

He said "Hey it's going to rain and you'll get soaked standing out there."

Joe replied "I like watching it rain sometimes, the smell the air gets is so clean." He exhaled slowly. "Just isn't the same here anymore, Alex, DK and now Lieu , I wonder if this place is cursed sometimes."

Billy said" Hey you still have me and Jimmy here, why don't we ride out the changes together huh?"

Joe sighed. "I just miss them sometimes, that's all and now we are getting some brand new lieutenant, Riley or something from the 45. Heard it's a woman, Wouldn't Taylor have just gotten a kick out of that."

Billy shrugged. "Yeah she would have for sure. I hope she is decent if we still talk to Johnson now and then."

Joe said "Let her try and stop that. I'll transfer out if she does."


	13. Off Into the Sunset

Author's Note: This is the ending folks, thanks for reading

Author's Note: This is the ending folks, thanks for reading. I wanted it to go out on a Happy Note for Lieu, Stay Tuned there will be many more stories with him to come.

Francis packed his suitcase slowly. He and Ruth were going to Florida for a few weeks to see his brother Pete who lived down there on the Gulf Coast near Key West . Their daughters were going to be on winter break for part of that time from college so the house and the dogs would be in good hands. It still seemed funny to him to have this time to travel and do what he wanted when he wanted it. This was a visit for now and then if they liked it it might become more permanent. The girls could fly down if they wanted to see them. The house was paid for at the moment and would easily sell if need be.

He said" Well Ruth here we go, Sunny Florida awaits. After you stayed married to me for all the years I was with the department, now you have me free and clear for the rest of our lives. I am glad you hung in with me and that we got here together."

Ruth gently kissed her husbands cheek. "I am just happy that we got here together and that now we get to really live. I love you Francis Johnson and I am glad for every moment that we've lived together."


End file.
